Hello to All...

So...approximately 12 hours ago I returned home from Paris, and I have been sleeping since. I have so much to say before I will feel fulfilled in sharing my adventures with you, so bear with me.

It all started at--well--6:30 pm on Friday. The fam hopped in the truck and we went to Vogelweh Air Base to kill some time before I got picked up at 10:30. The fam likes doing Friday night movies, so we went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was AWESOME! I highly recommend it. While it doesn't capture everything from the original, it does a good job with what it had time for. An absolute must see. I have decided that if I ever become a billionaire, I am going to build a chocolate factory. Thats another story.

So...after the movie we headed toward Sembach. On our way, we saw a bus pulled on the side of the road and people were getting in. Jen said that it was my bus, but I didnt think so. Regardless, we kept driving to my pick up point and waited, and waited. I finally called the emergency number to see where the bus was and why it hadnt picked me up. Turns out the bus we saw on the side of the road was mine--they were delayed and would be there any minute.

Alright....so I finally got on the bus. Im on the bus for about an hour and all of a sudden we stop. Apparently there is a transfer point (which I didnt know about). Good thing I wasnt asleep. We had to get off the bus and everyone had to go to their appropriate trip bus. There were four different buses (labeled 1-4) and I was on bus 4....the one bus that was yet to arrive. So we waited...and waited. I began to feel like the goosebumps on my legs were going to become permenant if i didnt do something. So, in the middle of the parking lot I pulled the spandex out of my bag and began to put them on. Hilarious, everyone thought I was crazy...myself included.

Alright... so our bus arrived and we got on. After traveling for an hour and a half I saw that we had JUSTED passed the exit for my house in Watteheim. So far I had beeen en route for 3 hours and hadnt even gotten a step closer to Paris!!!!! AAAHHHH!!!!! I decided I would try to sleep in order to let time pass faster. Of course, right when I decided to do that, the temperature began to drop. I was the only one on the bus without a blanket or pillow, so I put on my ipod and decided to brace myself for a long trip.

Okay...so 4.5 hours later, with no sleep, we begin approaching Paris. We dropped off the people going to disneyland for the day and continued to our first stop--breakfast. Jen had advised me that the breakfast wasnt that great, but i decided I'd go for it anyway. I figured a good croissant and a cup of coffee would end up costing me 10 bucks anywhere, so whatever. It was classic. I got eggs, a croissant, and a cup of coffee through the buffet line and sat there with my tray looking for a seat. It was packed--two tour buses had been dropped off there at the same time as ours, so it was impossible to find a seat. I felt like a kid on the first day of school. No friends. Hilarious. Anyway, a couple near me stood up and cleared their place and I snagged a seat.

Within a few minutes a girl sat down and we began to chat. She was the only other person on my tour that was on her own--all the rest of the people were families and stuff. So we got to talking. Her name is Robbie and she is 22...from Iowa. She runs a day camp for military children at one of the bases. Its a pretty cool program. The military pays your airfare anywhere in the world(she went to Tokyo last year) and then pays you 22 bucks a day to play with kids and take them on local trips and stuff. Not too shabby--a good way to travel w/out paying for hardly anything. So anyway...robbie and I decide that we are going to be travel buddies for the rest of the day and ditch the optional tour at the end of the day...details are on the way...

Ok...after breakfast we start the city tour. I THOUGHT it was going to be a walking city tour, but I am wrong. Basically, our tour guide gives us the history of every remotely interesting looking building in the Paris area and we jump out of the bus and take pics when the bus stops. It was a good way to get generally acquainted with the city, but not my idea of "getting to experience paris." So...after the last stop of the tour, Robbie and I talk to the tour guide....

We asked the tour guide if we could take off on our own and meet up with them somewhere that afternoon...and she said YES! The optional tour was on a boat...basically the same thing we had just done on the bus...taking pictures without getting close to SEEING anything...so Robbie and I were stoked that we got to bail out. Okay...so we mapped out what we for SURE wanted to see. We wanted to make it through the Louvre, to the Eiffel Tower, to the Army Museum, the Arch de Triumphe, and the Notre Dame Cathedral and still have some time for souvenier shopping...but we only had 4 hours. SOOO...we rushed to the Louvre first. It was AMAZING!! We spent about two hours there...seeing the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory of France...and MANY others!!! It was awesome!!!

We left there with two hours on the clock. We basically power walked/ran the entire stretch to the Eiffel Tower in the pouring rain. It had been gorgeous that morning (while we were on the bus) and now the weather was just wild. ANyway...we made it to the tower and took our pictures--classic tourist stuff. The line to get up the tower was insane and I wasnt about to stand in it for the only hour we had left so we ran back toward Concorde Square and saw the Arch de Triumphe and everything....it was just amazing.

By the time we got back on the bus, I was soaked from head to toe and my body was in pain...but it was sooo worth it. We were headed to a restaurant for our 3 course dinner which was included---so goood. I had french onion soup, chicken, crem de caramel, and a glas of wine. Such a great way to end the day.

I am so happy that I can say that I have seen Paris. I truly enjoyed myself, and yet Im not sure if I will make it back. Don't get me wrong, it is a beautiful city with so much history, but it is just a very hectic place based a lot on material goods. I hardly got a chance to shop for souveniers, but we did pass about a thousand jewelery and designer handbag/clothing shops. SO many people just go to Paris to shop...and I just dont really feel like spending 300 bucks on a shoelace. Anyway, it was a great experience nontheless. For those of you that have been, I hope you were able to see other parts of France as well. While Paris houses a lot of history, I dont feel like it gives you a good taste of French culture. I feel like Strassburg did a better job of giving me a taste and feel of the French culture and allowed me to appreciate the country a lot more than Paris. The tour guide told us that Paris has become so expensive to live in that only the richest of the rich can afford it. Kinda sad that the students of the University in downtown Paris dont even hang out or do anything there because it is too expensive. I guess I just missed the wandering artists and musicians that were all over Strassburg. I guess they just didnt meet the standards in Paris.

It felt great to get out and do some traveling on my own. I didnt get back until 1 a.m. and then I didnt wake up until 1 p.m....so i'm a little drowsy. I hope all is well with everyone. I posted my new photos on kodakgallery.com...so go ahead and take a look. I miss you all and I think fondly of the day that I get to go home.

Hugs and Kisses,
Beth O.